Boot dryer



E. J. LITTMAN Oct. 27, 1964 BOOT DRYER Filed March 13, 1963 United States Patent 3,154,392 BOOT DRYER Erwin E. Littman, RR. 5, Box 227, La Porte, ind. Filed Mar. 13, 1963, Ser. No. 264,884 2 Claims. (Cl. 34104) This invention relates to boot drying and, more particularly, to dryers for rubber boots or insulated boots used by sportsmen or construction workers.

Prior boot dryers have been relatively inefficient and have taken a relatively long time to properly dry the interior of a boot. One known boot dryer construction comprised a cylindrical member having one end extending into the boot to be dried and the other end adapted to be connected to a source of air. The cylindrical member was vertically oriented and the boot was disposed on the top thereof. Air rose through the cylindrical member and passed into the boot for drying the interior thereof. The drying process was slow because of inefficient circulation of air within the boot.

An attempt was made to improve this circulation by providing a spacer at one end of the cylindrical member to space the bottom of the boot from the end of the cylindrical member. However, the rate of drying was not uniform within the boot and parts of the interior were dry while other parts remained damp.

To accelerate the drying rate, the air circulated within the boot was heated. Heating the air expedited the drying rate in certain areas within the boot but the rate of drying was not uniform.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved boot dryer.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved boot dryer having means for effectively circulating air within the boot to be dried so as to uniformly dry the interior thereof.

A feature of the present invention is the construction of a boot dryer so as to provide means for more effectively distributing air within a boot to be dried. By this invention, the boot dryer is provided with a plurality of openings for assuring that air is positively directed toward the toe, the sole, and the rear of the boot, as well as the upper portions thereof. The air volume discharged through the opening adjacent the toe and directed toward the toe is at least twice the total volume of air discharged from the remaining openings in the boot dryer. The resultant air circulation materially improves the drying rate and eifectuates a uniform drying of the interior of the boot.

Other objects and features of the present invention will be apparent upon a consideration of the following specification and drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a pair of boot dryers of the present invention, illustrating schematically the organization of the boot dryer within a boot to be dried, with the boots being disposed upon a tray-like member;

FIGURE 2 is a bottom perspective view of a boot dryer of the present invention; and

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view of a boot dryer of the present invention.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, there is illustrated a pair of boot dryers of the present invention disposed within a pair of boots to be dried. Each boot dryer 1%) comprises a generally L-shaped tubular member adapted to be disposed within the boot 12. The tubular member comprises an upper portion 14 generally cylindrical in cross-section integrally connected with a lower portion 16 which extends generally transversely to the portion 14.

Opening means are provided within the boot dryer 12 for directing air discharged into the upper end of the 3,154,392 Patented Oct. 27, 1964 boot dryer to selected portions of the boot 12. A plurality of openings 18 are provided in the first portion 14 for directing air laterally toward the upper portion of the boot 12. An elongated opening 20 is defined in the rear portion of the boot dryer for directing air rearwardly toward the back of the boot and downwardly toward the sole of the boot. An opening 22 is defined at the for ward end of the portion 16 for discharging air toward the toe of the boot to be dried. Spacer means are provided to space the boot dryer from the boot and thus assure proper circulation of air within the boot. Preferably, the spacer means are formed integrally with the boot dryer and comprise a pair of short legs 24 extending from the forward portion of the boot dryer and a pair of longer legs 25 extending from the rear of the boot dryer. As seen in FIGURE 1, the pairs of legs 24 and 25, respectively, diverge outwardly slightly from the walls of the boot dryer.

Air for drying each boot is supplied to the top of the portion 14 of boot dryer 10 through a conduit 26, which is adapted to be connected to a suitable source of air. The end of the conduit comprises an adapter 27 having a recessed portion therein engaged by a flange on the top of the portion 14 for engaging the recessed portion. In the embodiment illustrated wherein it is desired to simul taneously dry a pair of boots, each conduit 26 is adapted to be connected to the manifold 28 which is connected at its end through conduit 29 to a fan member 30 for supplying the air through the conduits 26 to the boot dryer 10. It will be understood that a heater (not shown) may be associated with the fan for heating the air which is circulated into the boot to be dried.

An important feature of the present invention is the position and orientation of the opening 2% in the boot dryer It). Preferably, the opening 20 is an elongated slot commencing at approximately a point tangent to the cylindrical portion 14 and ending at a point approximately tangent to the bottom of portion 16, whereby the air discharged therethrough will be directed toward the rear and toward the bottom of the boot.

Considering now FIGURE 3, there is illustrated a crosssectional view of a boot dryer of the present invention. The openings 18 in the upright portion 14 of the boot dryer 10 may be circular, however, it will be apparent that the openings 18 may be elongated or slot-like, if desired. Further, the openings may be disposed at varying positions from the top of the boot dryer so that the air is directed laterally about the periphery of the tubular member against different portions of the interior of the boot.

The opening 22 in the front of the portion 16 is preferably rectangular. An important feature of the present invention is the relative size of the opening 22 in relation to the other openings provided in the boot dryer It). It has been determined that most eflicient boot drying is produced when the effective area of the opening 22 is at least twice the effective area of the openings 20 and 18 combined. In a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention wherein the upper tubular or cylindrical part 14 of the boot dryer has an internal diameter of one and three-eighths inches, and wherein the effective area of the discharge opening 22 is on the order of 0.6 square inch and the effective area of the other openings is on the order of 0.25 inch, a given boot could be dried in one-fourth the time as compared with a conventional unit having only a cylindrical member with a single discharge opening at the end thereof. The most efiicient drying cycle occurred when the effective area of the discharge opening 22 was two to three times the combined effective area of openings 18 and 20.

It will be noted that the bottom portion 16 of the boot dryer extends transversely from the portion 14 at 35" substantially a right angle thereto. This angular relationship is important to effectuate a proper angle of discharge of air toward the toe of the boot.

Most advantageously, the boot dryer can be formed from a pair of symmetrical members molded from'a suit able plastic and connected to one another with a suitable adhesive, though it will be apparent that tubular metal stock can be used.

It will be understood by those persons having skill in the art that the openings may take various shapes and be atvarious orientations with respect to one another. It is within the scope of the present invention that a single slot-like opening 2% may comprise a plurality of separate small holes spaced from one another. Similarly, each of the openings 18 may comprise a slot. The improved results of the present invention are most advantageously obtained when the effective area of the opening at the end of the discharge tube is at least twice the effective area of the remainder of the openings in the discharge member or boot dryer. It is preferred that the effective area of the discharge opening at the end of the boot be on the order of two to three times the effective area of the remaining openings.

The boot dryer of this invention is not limited foruse with mens shoe-type boots but can be used advantageously for drying hip boots as well as womens and childrens boots.

While I have described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that the invention is not limited thereto, since it may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A boot dryer comprising a generally L-shaped memher having an arcuate wall portion adapted to face the heel of a boot in which the boot dryer is adapted to be inserted and having a first tubular portion adapted to be connected at one end to a source of air and connected integrally at the other end to a second tubular member extending transversely therefrom, said second tubular portion being adapted to beinserted entirely into a boot to be dried,- means defining a first opening at the end of said L-shaped member for directing air toward the toe of the boot and means defining a second opening in the arcuate wall portion in the L-shaped member whichis-an elongated slot for directing air toward the rear and'bottom of the boot, the effective area of said firstopening means being at least twice the effective area ofthe second opening means, and spacer means extendingfrom said second tubular portion for'spacingthe'bootfromsaid second tubular portion'to assure effective circulation of air through the boot.

2. A boot dryer as in claim 1, wherein the effective area of said first opening means is on the order of two'to three times the effective area of said second opening; means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 717,235 Great Britain May 19, 

1. A BOOT DRYER COMPRISING A GENERALLY L-SHAPED MEMBER HAVING AN ARCUATE WALL PORTION ADAPTED TO FACE THE HEEL OF A BOOT IN WHICH THE BOOT DRYER IS ADAPTED TO BE INSERTED AND HAVING A FIRST TUBULAR PORTION ADAPTED TO BE CONNECTED AT ONE END TO A SOURCE OF AIR AND CONNECTED INTEGRALLY AT THE OTHER END TO A SECOND TUBULAR MEMBER EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY THEREFORM, SAID SECOND TUBULAR PORTION BEING ADAPTED TO BE INSERTED ENTIRELY INTO A BOOT TO BE DRIED, MEANS DEFINING A FIRST OPENING AT THE END OF SAID L-SHAPED MEMBER FOR DIRECTING AIR TOWARD THE TOE OF THE BOOT AND MEANS DEFINING A SECOND OPENING IN THE ARCUATE WALL PORTION IN THE L-SHAPED MEMBER WHICH IS AN ELONGATED SLOT FOR DIRECTING AIR TOWARD THE REAR AND BOTTOM OF THE BOOT, THE EFFECTIVE AREA OF SAID FIRST OPENING MEANS BEING AT LEAST TWICE THE EFFECTIVE AREA OF THE SECOND OPENING MEANS, AND SPACER MEANS EXTENDING FROM SAID SECOND TUBULAR PORTION FOR SPACING THE BOOT FROM SAID SECOND TUBULAR PORTION TO ASSURE EFFECTIVE CIRCULATION OF AIR THROUGH THE BOOT. 